I have not had any luck with bettas recently. My one fishy died Christmas Eve after his fin was turning white. I treated him with aquarium salt but he ended up passing away.

Then, just 2 days ago my mom and I took a little road trip to Petco so I could see different tail types and pick out a new fish. Well, I fell in love with 2 fish, a white crowntail with teal and a double tail with red fins and a body that changes color from green to purple. It wasn't until I got home and put the crowntail in his tank that I noticed he had trouble swimming. I think he had swim bladder. I fasted him and treated with Epsom salt but he died just a few hours ago. Going back tomorrow to Petco to return him, wish I could give him a proper burial.

Thank goodness my double tail seems to be healthy. I just hope I have better luck with him. I've kept bettas before in less water with no heater and they lived 2-3 years. Now I try to give a better life with proper heating and room to swim and they die.

It's not your fault. Most of that was from receiving an already sick fish. If the Betta that died Christmas has been with you for at least a month, then it's possible that it wasn't your fault still. I've never heard of a Betta dieing so quickly with fin rot, I think he might have had other problems you didn't know about.

I'm sure that with careful water changes and choosing carefully a healthy Betta, you wont have any problems with the new guy.

Thank you baylee and dramaqueen. I went to return the dead fish yesterday to Petco and looked at the other fish at the store. Most of them had swollen stomachs and swimming problems. The one employee even told me to stay away from the crowntails because they weren't doing too well. I told her that the fish were not healthy, she said she would let them know (hopefully they took care of them). So instead of getting another fish, I got a nice piece of driftwood to attach some java fern.

Then I went to another Petco and the fish were also very sick. Some of them even had ick :( and I made sure to tell someone there too.

My double tail is doing good so far. He is swimming around and making big bubble nests. So for now I'll just stick to taking care of him. I guess it's always good to have an extra heater around in case the one stops working... or if I see another fish that I simply cannot resist >.> lol.

i stay away from Petcos and Petsmarts now. :< i've gotten many betta in the past, and they all were healthy boys and girls. went to Petsmart, saw most of them had Swim Bladder issues. should have stayed away, but got this beautiful black-bodied boy. had bright red fins, with a smidge of blue on them. named him Mister Auron. he died that night. >.>; didn't even make it to his tank. after that, swore off chain store fish. x-x

sorry yours were sick. D: it sucks to lose a betta, no matter how long you've had him/her.

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